Tea garden workers to continue protest for Tk300 wage

The general tea garden workers have rejected the Tk25 daily wage hike fixed by the government.

The workers of over 240 tea gardens across the country have vowed to continue their movement for a Tk300 daily wage.

The move came hours after they called off their strike following the prime minister's directives for raising their daily wage from Tk120 to Tk145.

On Saturday, Bangladesh Tea Workers Union General Secretary Nripen Pal, called off the strike after a meeting with the Office of the Department of Labour at Sreemangal, Moulvibazar.

He said, "Our wages will be raised by Tk25 and the prime minister has assured us that she will hold a meeting after her visit to India. 

"In that meeting, we will inform her about our demands. From Sunday all workers will resume their work in their respective gardens."

However, the general tea garden workers opposed the announcement immediately and demonstrated in front of the Sreemangal Labour Department office for raising their wages to Tk300.

Hours later, in a video message,  Nripen Pal, said that the workers will continue to demonstrate to press home their demands.

"General tea workers have rejected the government proposal to hike wages by Tk25. They want to keep on demonstrating for Tk300 daily wage. We are with them. 

"Therefore, our movement will continue from Sunday until the demands are met," he added.

On August 9, the Bangladesh Tea Workers Union started a two-hour work abstention a day demanding a daily wage hike.

Workers demanded an increase of their wage to Tk300, with inflation rising and the currency depreciating. The workers of 241 tea gardens across the country went on a full-scale strike on 13 August, after four days of two-hour work abstention.

Bangladesh is producing a record amount of tea every year through the toil of the tea workers. In 2021, a record 96 million kilograms of tea was produced in the country thanks to the hard labour of the underpaid tea workers.

Although two agreements on increasing wages were signed, the fate of more than 1.5 lakh tea workers in the country has not changed a bit.